


The Greatest of These

by tmelange



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-02
Updated: 2011-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-22 03:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmelange/pseuds/tmelange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With proof, the rest is a mere technicality and can proceed according to a foreseeable plan of action.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Greatest of These

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in 2007.

_"In the end three things shall last, faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."_

–1 Corinthians 13:13

 

A sign. He wants proof. Of affection, of something more than just a conditional camaraderie, an honest handshake, a faint smile across a room filled with those inconsequential _others_ who could never understand or replace, duplicate or sublimate the way they _are_ together. The way they _believe_ in one another.

Of course, he doesn't need it—the proof. He has pursued his fair share of romantic partners, and is sure of his skill in that regard, but there are acceptable and unacceptable scenarios, and a pride that refuses to allow him to be just another person who adores, whose heart stops on a smile. _Superman!_ He is not some simpering stranger, some random recipient of one of Clark's many acts of kindness. Not one of _those._ Waiting for Superman to look his way. _Hopefully._

Then, a glance that lingers two seconds longer than necessary, a soft exhalation of breath, and he has what he needs. Proof. Of affection. That he is not alone in this certain longing. Undoubtedly, Clark would say all he was doing was breathing, but the Detective is acquainted with hunger; he knows what it looks like and it is there, in the brief pass of eyes across his face.

With proof, the rest is a mere technicality and can proceed according to a foreseeable plan of action. Long discussions about mutual interests, accommodation where once there was only acrimony, an invitation to dinner at a neutral location and then to the Manor. A studied thoughtfulness. A gift to show his regard. In return he learns what it feels like to be favored of the sun, to have an object around which to revolve, that only wants to pull him closer, sweetly, gravitationally. Knowing inside, in the dark places where his nightmares reside: _whoever can love like this can be saved._

In the back alleys, on the unforgiving streets of Gotham City, throughout this long and lonely Night—he has a gift that warms him. For the first time in his life he needs someone more than he needs his mission. For the first time, the two are not mutually exclusive. Batman and Superman.

Together, the impossible is possible.

 _finis_


End file.
